(Updated) NASA’s Orion spacecraft for Artemis I Moon mission returns home

NASA's Orion spacecraft for Artemis I, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions on the Moon, returned to Earth on Sunday, December 11, after a 1.4 million-mile journey around the Moon. The spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 9:40 PST, 12:40 EST, completing the agency's Artemis I flight test.

Artemis I was the first integrated test of NASA's deep space exploration systems - Orion, the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, and the supporting ground systems.

During this flight test, Orion stayed in space longer than any spacecraft designed for astronauts has done without docking to a space station. The spacecraft surpassed the record for distance travelled by a spaceship designed to carry humans, previously set during Apollo 13.

"The splashdown of the Orion spacecraft – which occurred 50 years to the day of the Apollo 17 Moon landing – is the crowning achievement of Artemis I. From the launch of the world’s most powerful rocket to the exceptional journey around the Moon and back to Earth, this flight test is a major step forward in the Artemis Generation of lunar exploration," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Splashdown. After traveling 1.4 million miles through space, orbiting the Moon, and collecting data that will prepare us to send astronauts on future #Artemis missions, the @NASA_Orion spacecraft is home. pic.twitter.com/ORxCtGa9v7

— NASA (@NASA) December 11, 2022

Update 1

Orion has been secured in the well deck of the USS Portland, NASA said in a statement, adding that the ship will soon begin its trip back to U.S. Naval Base San Diego, where engineers will remove the spacecraft from the ship in preparation for transport back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for post-flight analysis.

Following @NASA_Orion’s splashdown on Dec. 11, multiple tests were performed in open water to gather additional data and detailed imagery was taken before the capsule was loaded into the USS Portland. Orion is expected to arrive to shore Dec. 13.MORE: https://t.co/jXBbThG2We pic.twitter.com/TOr3tcsZvT

— NASA_SLS (@NASA_SLS) December 12, 2022